[FREE] The Titans and the New AFC South
The Titans find themselves in a new AFC South Arms Race.
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Like many of you, I was caught off guard by the big news today involving the Houston Texans.
Stefon Diggs — one of the league’s best wideouts, a headache for secondaries, and a veteran leader that has produced at each of his previous two spots — was surprisingly shipped to Houston in exchange for draft compensation.
Now as I read over this while playing some Red Dead — yes, I got to this game later than others, please don’t judge — I was caught off guard as well.
There have been rumblings about Diggs’ future for months now, so this isn’t a total surprise. But still, seeing a star get traded like this so suddenly for next to nothing, certainly perked my ears up and made me scratch my head a bit.
However, we can save that discussion for another day.
What really caught my…well, thoughts, was this move cementing a new war of attrition, a new stamp in an era of player movement, a bonafide arms race between two of the more interesting teams the AFC has to offer right now.
We know what the Titans have done during this off-season. Calvin Ridley, L’Jarius Sneed, and Lloyd Cushenberry were all given big time deals to solidify positions of need and give this team a foundation for build on for the future.
But the Texans weren’t far behind. They brought in two former Titans in Denico Autry and Azeez Al-Shaair, two difference makers should immediately aid a defense that took some steps last season. Same with Danielle Hunter, still somehow one of the more underrated pass rushers in all of football.
Add in Diggs and you’re looking at a pretty good off-season for the Texans as well, all of this before the draft too.
Hell, even the Jags added some pieces, with the big names being Arik Armstead and Gane Davis.
Now looking at this on a grand scale, it’s clear the two teams with an undeniable, yet disconnected link (Titans & Texans) have the same idea, which is to surround their young quarterback with talent and take advantage of the lower cap number that comes with their rookie deal.
While Jacksonville is just looking to add pieces to solidify their uh….little plan.
But also taking a look at this, just pushes the narrative that this division is going through a violent swing in terms of change.
Not only because of personnel, but in terms of attitude and aggressiveness as well.
Can you remember the last time 2, maybe even 3 teams in this division came to their own personal meeting tables, set out an aggressive plan for their off-season at the same time, and successfully carried out those plans at the same exact time?
Bringing in loads of talent, seeing who can get one over the other?
I can’t.
If you can though, kudos to you.
Now like all other offseasons full of activity, these plans could fall apart and end up being one of the usual disappointments.
We’ve seen it happen before and the end results were total disasters.
But on the other hand, the moves all teams have made — including the Titans, where they bought quality at key positions of need — have been made with plenty attention to detail, but with a little pinch of belligerence.
And if this works out, we could look back on this off-season being the one that gave the AFC South the polish it had been missing for quite some time.
The last part sounds a little harsh, but it’s true.
Anyone who has followed this division for years, knows that this one simply lacks the year to year intrigue that other compelling divisions usually have.
Like for instance, the AFC North.
Usually, we’ve had one standout team with another somewhat posing as a bit of a threat, but ultimately failing to rise out of the shadow they’ve inadvertently placed themselves in.
This time though, there’s 3 teams that have an interesting air about them.
Houston still remains the favorite of course, with CJ Stroud leading the pack as the next potential face of the division.
But the Titans aren’t extremely far behind either. It might sound a little far fetched to say that, given the next regime hasn’t been able to see their new product on the field yet. But the foundation is there for something positive nonetheless.
Jacksonville has a chip on their shoulder as well, after choking away the division last year as heavy preseason favorites.
Do you see the intrigue? Do you feel the mana?
I certainly do.
Maybe you see things differently, maybe you think this is all mumbo jumbo being spewed by a fan that has a unique interest in this division.
But this division feels primed and ready for some long term action that it hasn’t seen maybe ever.
And if that doesn’t excite you, what will?
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